Written for The Drinks Business
With most of Argentina experiencing outstanding quality and Chile encountering one of the strangest harvests in their recent history, this year’s harvest has been remarkable.
Across Argentina the flowering period and harvest went by almost without a climatic hitch. In Mendoza, where the sun shines on average more than 300 days a year, the real risks for winemakers are frosts, hailstorms and burning Zonda winds sometimes of biblical proportions. This year as harvest comes to an end, winemakers throughout Argentina are celebrating one of their best harvests yet – without any climatic irregularities.
A mild spring and a cool summer, in these usually hotter climes, also helped with more elegant ripening and allowed winemakers to harvest at their own pace. “2013 is a promising year, especially for the grapes coming from the Uco Valley,” commented winemaker Leonardo Erazu from Altos Las Hormigas. “A more balanced ripeness was achieved… with wonderful natural acidity and less potential alcohol.”